Welcome to the monthly e-mail newsletter of the Sierra Club's Oregon Chapter!

May 2009 - Issue 2

ROAD TRIP! - HELP THE EPA FIGHT GLOBAL WARMING!

The Environmental Protection Agency has just announced its finding that carbon dioxide is a threat to the public health and welfare. They are holding a public hearing regarding this proposal and we need to show our support for swift action!

This is our first major opportunity since the Presidential election to demonstrate clear, decisive, overwhelming support for bold federal action on global warming. This is the critical first step for the EPA to begin regulating carbon dioxide from coal plants, cars, and other major sources of global warming pollution.

Protect the climate through fuel efficiency and cleaner cars and trucks!HB 2186 is up for a vote next Tuesday in the Oregon House of Representatives. This bill will lead to the establishment of a 'low carbon fuel standard' in Oregon, and allow the state to implement rules to limit engine idling, reduce truck and automobile emissions, and require retailers to sell more efficient tires. HB 2186 will lead to greater fuel efficiency, cleaner fuels for cars and trucks, and more cleaner alternative vehicles in Oregon. By passing this bill the Oregon Legislature can protect the climate and air quality, while saving us all money at the pump. Industry opposition to this bill is intense, and we need your help!

Just last month, President Obama signed into law a bill that safeguards millions of acres of new wilderness and protects hundreds of miles of rivers. The bill created 200,000 new acres of Wilderness in Oregon, including portions of the Mt. Hood National Forest, the Copper Salmon Wilderness, the Badlands Wilderness, the Spring Basin Wilderness, and the Soda Mountain wilderness. The Oregon Sierra Club was a major force in passing this historic legislation.

Join us on June 3 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in Salem for a cook-out for forest protection in front of the State Forestry Department headquarters! Concerned citizens, forest advocates and fishermen from across the state plan to attend the June 3 Board of Forestry meeting and show our support for conservation and sustainable state forest management as the Board makes a big decision about future management of the Tillamook and Clatsop state forests.

here will also be free fly fishing, casting lessons and demonstrations on site at Mill Creek. E-mail Jeff Hickman at jeff.hickman@sierraclub.org for more information or to learn more about how you can help in the fight to save our coastal state forests.

GET OUTDOORS!Spring is around the corner and now is a great time to get outside and enjoy Oregon's environment (and maybe even learn more about how you can get involved with the Oregon Sierra Club!) Check out our outings calendar to see a list of activities in your areas!

BEND AREA FIELD TRIP!The Sierra Club's Juniper Group is conducting monthly field trips to explore the impacts of logging and development projects near Bend, Oregon. Join us on May 9 as we investigate the proposed West Trumbull fuels reduction project about five miles west of Bend. Click here to learn more!

NEW ACTIVIST ORIENTATION!Want to get involved and don't know how? Join us on Tuesday, May 12 at 6pm for our "new activist orientation." Not from Portland or can't make the orientation? No sweat - e-mail Brian Pasko to arrange an orientation that works for you!

SAY NO TO LNG!Do you want to help the Sierra Club stop gas companies from building multiple liquefied natural gas terminals and hundreds of miles of pipelines across Oregon's rivers, forests, and farmland? Join our LNG committee on May 14. E-mail Greg Jacob to learn more!

ARE YOU A DESERT RAT?Do you want to help us continue to protect places like Spring Basin, Soda Mountain, the Badlands, and the Owyhee Canyonlands?Join our High Desert Committee on the first Wednesday of every month. E-mail Anne Mitchell to learn more!